After scoring in bunches for the past three games, New York City Football Club settled for a scoreless draw at home on Saturday night. It was a game that by all metrics they should have won and won easily, but without Valentin Castellanos in the line up they could not find a goal.
The team enjoyed a whopping 74 percent possession, but were only able to send three shots on target over the course of the game. Ronny Deila was frustrated with the lack of a result after the game.
“Seventy-four percent possession is more than I like. That means there were too many passes in our own half… I think we should be more direct than that. A lot of possession is in our own half. I want to be much more direct than that. 58, 59, up to 60 is alright. In my opinion, we should go more straight to the goal. There were too many passes.. We defended really well and controlled the game 74%. I think we should be more direct than that. A lot of possession is in our own half. I want to be much more direct than that. 58, 59, up to 60 is alright. In my opinion, we should go more straight to the goal. There were too many passes.”
May 7, 2022; New York, NY, New York, NY, USA; Sporting Kansas City forward Daniel Salloi (20) fights for the ball against New York City FC defender Thiago Martins (5) during the first half at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
That did indeed seem to be the problem. With Castellanos out there was not a link for like replacement able to be pesky on the high press and turn that pressure directly onto goal. Heber made his first start since his knee injury last year but was not able to link up with Talles Magno, Thiago Andrade, and Santiago Rodriguez in any meaningful way through out most of the match. The Man of the Match performance came from Keeper Sean Johnson who made a dazzling reaction save at the end of the first half to show why he deserves to be on the plane to Qatar with the national team this Fall. Delia had nothing but praise for him after the game.
“I think we do our job defensively. That makes it easy for defenders. I think they also play well, and Sean (Johnson), today especially, was really really good. Fantastic save at the end of the first half. That kept us in the game. So, first and foremost it is the attitude of this organization. Everyone is willing to do their jobs defensively and offensively.”
May 7, 2022; New York, NY, New York, NY, USA; New York City FC forward Heber (9) controls the ball against Sporting Kansas City during the first half at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Anytime your keeper is the Man of the Match however that means there is a problem somewhere else. NYCFC lead in almost every statistical category but simply was not dangerous going forward. Deila was not satisfied but not distraught after the game.
“It was perfect weather for football today, the pitch was good as well. That is no excuse for why we did not win. I think it was an even game, we had a little bit more chances, we had the ball much more than them. We could not open them up enough, we did manage to switch the play enough with overloads on the sides, we also were not accurate with our final pass. We didn’t get more than one point with us, but at the same time it is very good we keep a clean sheet again…I am very happy we take something with us when we don’t play at our best.”
On Wednesday night NYCFC get a chance to play in the Open Cup for the first time this year against a Rochester Squad that NYCFCII defeated a few weeks ago. Although Deila promised “much more squad rotation than normal” for the game, the goals show flow again. The big question is who will step up and fill Castellanos’s scoring shows if the Argentine does not play. It is a question that will have to be addressed and answered perhaps this summer if Castellanos is sold.
Talles Magno had his thoughts about the answer. “The team has a lot of potential, it doesn’t matter who is playing out there. Taty [Castellanos] is a very aggressive player when he’s out there, he’s going to convert the goal chances and score. But our team is very talented; we have various people who can step up and play those positions so when that time comes we’ll assess. But, we [NYCFC] are really deep and we’re really happy with our squad.”
The team is deep and they should be happy, but with no goals on Saturday night, they also need to prove what Magno said. Right now it does matter who is playing out there. Right now Castellanos is an invaluable part of the starting squad. Until the club proves they can score goals without him then statistics don’t mean a thing.
